Thinking of Lady Macbeth from Shakespeare's play Macbeth, one thing comes to mind: insanity (Ask me about the flawed structure of this opening sentence.). Therefore, I believe that there are probably many people in history, as well as in the world today, that could be similar to her in this aspect. I found a particular gentleman that had many resemblances to her - Dan White . He took part in an assassination, confessed for it (awkward phrasing - "confessed his involvement"), and eventually committed suicide - all similarities to Lady Macbeth.(good intro.)
Basic Similarities
Both of these assassins started off in relatively high positions. Lady Macbeth was the wife of a very successful general (Macbeth), and White was a San Fransisco City Supervisor ("Dan White"). Both characters knew the victim before the murder occurred, and to a great extent. White worked closely with his victims, Moscone and Milk. He even supported some of Milk's political initiatives ("Dan White"). However, due to a conflict between these assassinators and their victims, a death occurred, and it wasn't their own. Lady Macbeth had the conflict of desiring her husband to be in power, rather than King Duncan, while White had a literal "falling out" with Milk over land zoning ("Dan White"). White, however, assassinated Milk on the basis of the continual conflicts and being turned down by Milk, whereas Lady Macbeth's part in the assassination was merely due to the fact that she desired to fulfill a prophesy(use the noun here - prophecy) so much that she was willing to stop at nothing for it. Both of these assassinators also murdered men of high position and power - Lady Macbeth with Duncan and White with Milk (San Fransisco's supervisor) and Moscone (San Fransisco's mayor) ("Dan White").
Insanity and Suicide
These two murderers also became insane, and it is hard to tell when exactly this occurred. White's lawyer argued that his mental state was not up to par at the time of the murders due to depression ("Dan White, Killer"). I believe that Lady Macbeth's mental state was not in good condition when she took part in the assassination either (placing "either" at the end of the sentence here is awkward). The Doctor that observes her sleepwalking agrees with this when he states that "[Her] disease is beyond my practice" (Shakespeare V.i.60) and "More needs she the divine than the physician" (V.i.75). She felt no emotion when she was participating in the deed, or afterwards. She states(,) "The sleeping and the dead/Are but as pictures" (Shakespeare II.ii.53-4); "what's done is done" (III.ii.12); and "A little water clears us of this deed:/How easy is it then!" (II.ii.66-7), proving that she really wasn't phased by the murder that she had helped with or death alone. Both murderers also ended up committing suicide . Whether this act was due to depression or something else in (is) uncertain, but I believe that it was due to their views on life. I believe that both of them believed that it would be better to be dead than have to live with the guilt. In one of Lady Macbeth's sililoquoys (misspelled), she states that "'Tis safer to be that which we destroy/Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy" (Shakespeare III.ii.6-7). Personally, if I was in their position, I probably would've felt the same. Even though neither of them showed remorse for what they had done, there is almost no possible way for them to not be consumed with the thoughts of the murder constantly. It robbed Lady Macbeth of her sleep, and it probably did the same for White. Even though both of them were "happy" that they accomplished what they had planned to do, it must've been haunting for them to have the constant reminder of their horrific deed.(good analysis)
Confessions
Though Lady Macbeth didn't intentionally confess her deed to anyone, the doctor and nurse overheard her speaking about it in her sleep one night, and therefore knew the truth (Shakespeare V.i.40-1, 64-5). In 1998, Frank Falzon (a homocide (misspelled) inspector with the San Fransisco police) claimed to have met with White in 1984 and had heard White's confession of killing Moscone and Milk, as well as premeditating this act ("Dan White").
Hollywood's Input
The story Macbeth has had many different movie adaptations of it. From the 1948 version ("IMDb") to the more recent 2006 version ("Celebrity Wonder") (Cool! I did not know about this version. I will need to check it out.). This story of Dan White has also become quite popular in Hollywood. A documentary was made about it called "The Times of Harvey Milk " ("The Times of Harvey Milk"). This movie takes its viewers through the step by step process of what occurred in the Mocone and Milk assassinations. Not only has this story taken on a documentary style, (but) Hollywood is also in the process of portraying it in a more appealing form as a major production film. The movie's title is "Milk " and will be opening in November of this year ("Milk").
Similarites Between Lady Macbeth and Dan White
Introduction
Thinking of Lady Macbeth from Shakespeare's play Macbeth, one thing comes to mind: insanity (Ask me about the flawed structure of this opening sentence.). Therefore, I believe that there are probably many people in history, as well as in the world today, that could be similar to her in this aspect. I found a particular gentleman that had many resemblances to her - Dan White . He took part in an assassination, confessed for it (awkward phrasing - "confessed his involvement"), and eventually committed suicide - all similarities to Lady Macbeth.(good intro.)
Basic Similarities
Both of these assassins started off in relatively high positions. Lady Macbeth was the wife of a very successful general (Macbeth), and White was a San Fransisco City Supervisor ("Dan White"). Both characters knew the victim before the murder occurred, and to a great extent. White worked closely with his victims, Moscone and Milk. He even supported some of Milk's political initiatives ("Dan White"). However, due to a conflict between these assassinators and their victims, a death occurred, and it wasn't their own. Lady Macbeth had the conflict of desiring her husband to be in power, rather than King Duncan, while White had a literal "falling out" with Milk over land zoning ("Dan White"). White, however, assassinated Milk on the basis of the continual conflicts and being turned down by Milk, whereas Lady Macbeth's part in the assassination was merely due to the fact that she desired to fulfill a prophesy(use the noun here - prophecy) so much that she was willing to stop at nothing for it. Both of these assassinators also murdered men of high position and power - Lady Macbeth with Duncan and White with Milk (San Fransisco's supervisor) and Moscone (San Fransisco's mayor) ("Dan White").
Insanity and Suicide
These two murderers also became insane, and it is hard to tell when exactly this occurred. White's lawyer argued that his mental state was not up to par at the time of the murders due to depression ("Dan White, Killer"). I believe that Lady Macbeth's mental state was not in good condition when she took part in the assassination either (placing "either" at the end of the sentence here is awkward). The Doctor that observes her sleepwalking agrees with this when he states that "[Her] disease is beyond my practice" (Shakespeare V.i.60) and "More needs she the divine than the physician" (V.i.75). She felt no emotion when she was participating in the deed, or afterwards. She states(,) "The sleeping and the dead/Are but as pictures" (Shakespeare II.ii.53-4); "what's done is done" (III.ii.12); and "A little water clears us of this deed:/How easy is it then!" (II.ii.66-7), proving that she really wasn't phased by the murder that she had helped with or death alone. Both murderers also ended up committing suicide . Whether this act was due to depression or something else in (is) uncertain, but I believe that it was due to their views on life. I believe that both of them believed that it would be better to be dead than have to live with the guilt. In one of Lady Macbeth's sililoquoys (misspelled), she states that "'Tis safer to be that which we destroy/Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy" (Shakespeare III.ii.6-7). Personally, if I was in their position, I probably would've felt the same. Even though neither of them showed remorse for what they had done, there is almost no possible way for them to not be consumed with the thoughts of the murder constantly. It robbed Lady Macbeth of her sleep, and it probably did the same for White. Even though both of them were "happy" that they accomplished what they had planned to do, it must've been haunting for them to have the constant reminder of their horrific deed.(good analysis)
Confessions
Though Lady Macbeth didn't intentionally confess her deed to anyone, the doctor and nurse overheard her speaking about it in her sleep one night, and therefore knew the truth (Shakespeare V.i.40-1, 64-5). In 1998, Frank Falzon (a homocide (misspelled) inspector with the San Fransisco police) claimed to have met with White in 1984 and had heard White's confession of killing Moscone and Milk, as well as premeditating this act ("Dan White").
Hollywood's Input
The story Macbeth has had many different movie adaptations of it. From the 1948 version ("IMDb") to the more recent 2006 version ("Celebrity Wonder") (Cool! I did not know about this version. I will need to check it out.). This story of Dan White has also become quite popular in Hollywood. A documentary was made about it called "The Times of Harvey Milk " ("The Times of Harvey Milk"). This movie takes its viewers through the step by step process of what occurred in the Mocone and Milk assassinations. Not only has this story taken on a documentary style, (but) Hollywood is also in the process of portraying it in a more appealing form as a major production film. The movie's title is "Milk " and will be opening in November of this year ("Milk").